THE mining ban ordinance passed last week by the Davao City Council showed once again the dynamics between the local government that has been responsive to a critical public.
The city has been known to craft various laws and ordinances reflective of the people's movements and concerns. We have the Women Development Code and Children's Welfare Code born out of women groups' assertion of women's social and economic rights as well as protection of children's welfare. The city's No Smoking Ordinance and executive order on speed limits addressed the city's health and road safety concerns. The City Council and barangay officials also passed resolutions opposing the entry of United States military-led Balikatan Exercises in the city as reflective of the mayor and the public's patriotic sentiments against American military intervention.
We now add the mining ban to this list of the city's progressive laws. Environment and indigenous groups laud the city's local government for getting the city's long-standing opposition to mining firmed up as a law.
This reflects both the people and City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte's stand on the harmful effects of mining which has been pushed by the national policy known as the Mining Act of 1995. Duterte stated that just by looking at the effects of mining operations in Agusan and Diwalwal, one sees the color brown in rivers. The local act was also pushed after complaints reached the city council of mining applications and explorations from Alberto Mining Corp and Pensons Mining Corp covering 17,000 hectares in Paquibato District.
The Indigenous people's alliance Kalumaran also pointed out that mining has only “fueled violence in the communities and brought unspeakable destruction to the environment.” The group has lost Lumad leaders such as Juvy Capion in Davao del Sur, Ludenio Monzon from Cateel, Davao Oriental and Pedro Tinga in Maco. These leaders who stood to protect their land and communities were silenced by bullets.
The indigenous group Katribu rightly points out this serves as “a defense against mining pushed by the national government. It is a product of hard-won battles of communities and local governments against mining plunder.” The environment group Kalikasan said Davao now joins 12 provincial and city governments to declare a ban on large-scale mining including Mindoro Oriental, Mindoro Occidental, Puerto Princesa City, Marinduque, Romblon, Guimaras, Capiz, Albay, Eastern Samar, Northern Samar, Western Samar and Negros Occidental.
The province of South Cotabato also enacted an environment code which prohibits large-scale mining operations in the province in response to a movement by Lumads and religious groups to oppose the government's Tampakan Gold Project from prospering, as various mining companies have come and gone such as Australia's Western Mining, Indophil, European company Xstrata Mines and currently the US company Glencore.
But such victory still face challenges, from no less than multinational mining firms who will find an ally in President Aquino. They will likely use Aquino's Executive Order 79 as a battering ram to smash local ordinances. They will argue that local laws must not run counter to national laws.
Aquino's EO 79 may call for a moratorium of new mining applications, but exempted the 771 large-scale mining permits filed or approved before the EO was passed. Many of these past mining permits are still thriving in the outskirts of Lumad communities and farms.
We have to take pointers from Professor Luz Ilagan, former city councilor and current legislator of Gabriela Women's Partylist. She said that laws such as the Women Code is not meant for display, but to be enforced day by day when issues arise concerning women. Ilagan's Makabayan bloc in Congress is also pushing for a new People's Mining Bill to re-orient the mining industry from being pro-multinational to pro-people or pro-national industry.
There is no rest for the machines that plunder and profit. Likewise, people's movements should expand their ranks and educate the public to protect our land and patrimony.
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